Unopposed Civic Wins Reflect ‘Mature Democracy’: Bawankule
The minister claimed that councilors from the BJP and the Mahayuti alliance parties are being elected unopposed at several places as people’s trust has increased due to the large amount of funds provided and development works being done by the central and state governments.
Mumbai: Amidst the outcry over the unopposed winning candidates in Maharashtra, state revenue minister and senior BJP leader Chandrashekhar Bawankule has defended the poll outcomes saying they are ‘good for democracy’ and are a sign of ‘mature democracy.’ The BJP leader claimed that development is the agenda of those who were elected unopposed.
Speaking in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Bawankule said, “There is nothing wrong if a candidate is elected unopposed without any opposition in a democracy. This is a good sign for democracy and sets a nice precedent. Based on the work of the state and central governments, if someone is elected unopposed in this way then it should be welcomed.”
The minister claimed that councilors from the BJP and the Mahayuti alliance parties are being elected unopposed at several places as people’s trust has increased due to the large amount of funds provided and development works being done by the central and state governments.
Bawankule also slammed the opposition’s move to move to courts on the matter. “It is not right for the opposition to criticize this. There were no written rules that unopposed elections should not take place and the Election Commission has allowed it. Opposition parties wishing to seek justice for themselves were free to do so,” he said.
The minister’s remarks have come in the wake of Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray's appeal to the State Election Commission to cancel the results in 68 civic wards where ruling Mahayuti nominees were declared winners unopposed in the run-up to the January 15 municipal corporation elections and a warning that democracy must not be overrun by ‘mobocracy.’
However, Bawankule countered the allegations saying there were several instances in the past where candidates have been elected unopposed to local governing bodies and gram panchayats.
The BJP and its Mahayuti allies have won 68 seats unopposed in the Maharashtra civic polls scheduled for January 15. Of them, a staggering 47 per cent (32 candidates) hail from Thane district alone. The BJP leads the tally with 20 unopposed candidates, followed by the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena with 12. In Kalyan, 14 BJP and six Shiv Sena candidates have emerged unopposed, while six candidates each from both ruling parties have secured the tag in Thane and Bhiwandi.
